A Walk in the Forest
by planet p
Summary: After high school, Kiay and Tuscany decide to travel the world and have some fun. Unfortunately, they run into a little trouble in Forks, Washington.


**A Walk in the Forest** by planet p

**Disclaimer** I don't own _Too Young_ or the _Twilight_ saga or any of their characters.

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><p><em>2013<em>

Tuscany sat down on a moss-covered tree stump, glancing across at Kiay, Tia, and Anker, one of their tour guides. After high school graduation, they'd decided to go on a guided world tour. They were currently walking through a forest in Washington, USA. They'd just finished lunch and had set off again when Tuscany had tripped over a tree root and stumbled, hurting her ankle.

Anker had suggested they sit down and give her ankle some time to settle down. After looking at it and examining it, he decided it wasn't broken or sprained, just a little painful, so if she waited for it to calm down and kept pressure off it, maybe it would get better in ten or fifteen minutes.

Kiay took out her water bottle and handed it to her friend, who gratefully took a sip, then another, and a couple more, before handing it back. "Thanks, hon," Tuscany told her.

Kiay nodded, offering her a smile. "That's cool, Tus."

They talked about what they would do when they arrived home, what they wanted to do in the future and where they most wanted to work. Tuscany massaged her ankle for a couple of minutes. Ten minutes later, they stood up and began walking again.

Tia patted Tuscany's back soothingly.

"How do you feel?" Kiay asked her.

Tuscany smiled. "My ankle actually feels better now. I'm glad we sat down for a while for a rest. I never knew you wanted to work in health care before."

Kiay smiled back at her and shrugged. "I never really thought about it before," she admitted. "But I guess I'd like to help people."

Tuscany nodded. "Yeah. That's pretty cool."

They'd just passed a fork in the path when a young woman burst out of the trees and landed on the path on all fours, in a crouched position.

Anker froze, shocked by the young woman's sudden appearance. It was a couple of seconds later that his shock became suspicion, and then wary. The young woman was staring at them with a hungry look in her eyes - which were red! - and her clothes were covered in dirt, twigs and... blood!

"Don't move, Anker," Tuscany whispered carefully.

The young woman bared her teeth... and smiled at them.

Kiay frowned, looking around them slowly. All of a sudden, Tia was nowhere to be seen. She tried to remember the last time she'd seen her, but it had been a while ago now. Suddenly, she didn't like this situation much at all. She had a feeling this young woman was dangerous.

A sick feeling lodged itself inside her chest and her heart beat like mad. She tried to reach out her senses to feel the rest of the tour group, but she couldn't feel anything at all. She wasn't getting anything from the young woman ahead of them on the path, either. It was just Anker and Tuscany.

"Everyone stay very still," Tuscany whispered again.

Staring at the young woman, Kiay suddenly saw other people appearing all around her. At first, she thought they may be the young woman's friends, but then she realised she recognised them - they were the people in the rest of their tour group.

And they were dead!

"You killed them!" she whispered, disgust and horror clashing in her tone. She couldn't help trembling, all of a sudden.

Suddenly, Tuscany gave a gasp as she tuned in on what Kiay was seeing. Her eyes slid to Kiay's, but it was already too late for her to do anything to change what would happen next.

Kiay's ability had manifested two years ago, just after she'd turned sixteen, and she hadn't had nearly as much time as Tuscany had had to learn to cope with her "feelings". Now, her feelings were telling her to run, were telling her that if she didn't run, if she didn't get out of here, she'd end up dead like the rest of their tour group.

Kiay turned on her heel and flew back down the forest path, grabbing Tuscany's hand on her way past. "Run!" she yelled to Anker.

The bloody young woman laughed, then she was on the path ahead of them, instead of behind them. How she could have moved that fast made no sense, but Kiay knew that some things that sometimes looked like they were impossible were sometimes very, very possible.

She pointed a finger at the young woman, a hard, dark light in her eye as she clutched Tuscany's hand tighter. "Don't _you_ come any closer, monster!"

"'Monster'!" the young woman laughed. "I'm hungry, I eat; you're hungry, you eat. How are we any different? Our tastes mightn't be exactly the same, but we're both just trying to survive."

"You're a vampire!" Anker whispered.

The young woman laughed again.

"You don't kill because you're hungry, you kill because you enjoy it," Kiay growled. She could feel it, now. She'd moved past the feelings she was getting off her slain tour group members, that had previously been swamping her senses, making her feel sick. She could feel how much this young woman was enjoying tormenting them. "You're not just an animal - you're a _monster_!"

The young woman's eyes flashed menacingly and she growled in the back of her throat. She leapt at them.

Kiay screamed and made to whip around and run back the way she'd come, clutching her friend's hand tighter, but the vampire was faster.

She landed neatly in front of them, only a few inches away. Anker couldn't take anymore, he made a run for it. A laugh bubbled up in the vampire's throat and she tossed her head casually. "I can finish him off later," she told them, hissing and leaning closer, exposing her lethally-sharp fangs.

She was about to grab Kiay when someone or something attacked her, knocking her away from the two frightened girls. A flash of fur was the only thing Kiay saw.

There was a series of growls and hisses, getting further and further away each time. Then there was a terrible scream. Kiay held onto Tuscany tightly, tears shining on her cheeks. She didn't see the vampire or her furry attacker again.

A minute later, when Kiay was sure the scream had been the vampire's and that it probably meant she was dead, _really_ dead, she hugged Tuscany and looked around, suddenly catching sight of Tia coming through the trees.

"Anker!" Kiay called. "Anker!" They had to find their tour guide.

"I found him," Tia told them. "Come with me."

Kiay nodded and shivered, holding onto Tuscany's hand as they followed Tia.

"They're all dead," Tia added. "I checked."

Kiay stared harder into the distance, looking for any sign of Anker.

"I'm sorry," Tia added quietly.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Kiay told her, just as quietly.

"I left my best friends alone when they were in danger," Tia muttered, angry with herself.

"We're okay," Tuscany finally spoke up. "Nothing bad happened to us. That... lycan saved us..."

"What?" Kiay and Tia asked at the same time.

"That... that flash of fur we saw... that was a..."

"A werewolf!" Kiay gasped.

"A good one, apparently," Tuscany said. She ran a hand over her hair. "I can't believe... the rest of our group is dead! I hope Anker's okay!"

"He is," Tia told her. "He's just up ahead. Physically okay, anyway. Mentally and emotionally... who can say how he's feeling right now."

"Anker!" Kiay let go of Tuscany's hand and ran off ahead. She fell down on the ground in front of the shaking man and picked up his hands. "Anker!"

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><p>The police arrived at last and Kiay and Tuscany were taken into police custody, along with Anker. It was obvious the police would have to question them after what had happened, but Kiay was sure they'd soon realise that it hadn't been them who'd killed the rest of their tour group.<p>

Three hours later, they were realised from police custody and advised to visit the hospital. The media were already all over the story. As soon as they stepped out of the police station the media was upon them, asking all kinds of questions.

Kiay and Tuscany positioned themselves on either side of Anker and declined to comment. The only thing Tuscany would say was that they'd stopped because she'd hurt her ankle and that they hadn't been with the rest of their group when the "incident" had happened. They didn't know anything else. They hadn't heard any screams; nothing.

The media had more questions but they couldn't answer them. They finally made it to a taxi and asked to be driven to the hospital. It looked like Anker needed help. He still hadn't spoken more than two or three words and he was pale and shaky.

At the hospital, they sat down to wait for a doctor to see them. When a doctor called Anker's name, Kiay was surprised to find that they doctor was almost as pale as Anker himself. Her eyes immediately darkened and she placed herself in between her friends and this pale man.

"You're not alive!" she hissed.

The doctor looked surprised, at first, and then hurt. "How do you know that?" he asked quietly, directing them towards his office with a hand.

Kiay refused to budge an inch. "You're a vampire, too, aren't you?" she questioned hostilely.

"I don't drink human blood," he told her calmly, very quietly. "I'm not your enemy. I don't know how the woman slipped through our net, how we failed to detect her presence, but she's gone now. She can't hurt you anymore."

Kiay shook her head. "Don't think I trust a word you've just said, doctor, but Anker needs help. If you hurt him, I'll hurt you back!" she growled, finally moving towards the doctor's office.

"I'm Dr. Cullen," he told Anker and Tuscany.

Tuscany nodded merely, without saying anything, and followed her friend, walking slowly enough so she wouldn't leave Anker behind.

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><p>Anker was admitted to hospital overnight for observation, suffering shock, and Kiay and Tuscany took a taxi to a motel. Kiay immediately found a payphone and called James. She told James about the murders but assured him that Tuscany and she were absolutely fine, save for being a little shaken. James was very worried, but Kiay reassured him that they were fine and would be home soon. They'd decided to cut their world tour short and come home, but first they wanted to see Anker once more before he got out of hospital. They'd go to the airport together and then go their separate ways.<p>

Kiay lay back on her bed, once they'd got a room, and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "This is horrific," she told Tuscany and Tia, "almost too much to take. I mean - vampires! Werewolves!"

Tuscany sighed. "I know what you mean," she muttered.

Tia glanced at the clock. "You really should unpack and go out for something to eat. It's dinner-time."

"I actually can't think about eating right now," Tuscany told her. "I know I wasn't the one who had to go and ch... who saw all that carnage, but I can imagine what it must have loo..." She turned pale and lay back on her own bed.

Tia patted her hand. "When you feel like eating again, just be sure and have something."

"I'm getting a drink," Kiay said. "Anyone want anything?"

"Would be nice," Tia said, "but I'm..."

"Sorry," Kiay said.

Tia shook her head. It was fine. "Tuscany? Are you thirsty?"

"No," Tuscany replied, her voice muffled by the pillow over her face.

Kiay sighed and headed for the door, then stopped.

Tia nodded and hurried over to her. After nearly being killed by a vampire, she could understand if Kiay wouldn't feel very comfortable going out alone.

They walked off to find a vending machine together.

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><p>Kiay froze, peering intently through the dark at the young man leant against the wall nearby to the vending machine. She closed her hand over the coins in her palm and marched up to him. For some reason, he was smiling. "It was you, wasn't it?" she accused. "You're the one who stopped that... vampire from killing my friend and I. You're... furry, in your spare time!"<p>

He stepped away from the wall and nodded. "Not exactly in my spare time," he replied. "It's kinda my job. Sorta. And we don't call it 'furry,' we call it 'werewolf.'" He stuck out his hand. "I'm Jacob."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand and shook it. "Kiay." She sighed. "And... thanks. For saving our arses. That chick was... _bad_!"

"Yeah, they do tend to be. But, believe it or not, they do have rules."

Kiay nodded. "Yeah. You're right. I don't believe it." She laughed, eyes sparkling. "Oh, right – you're talking about that doctor, Cullen. The whole I-don't-drink-human-blood thing!" She stuck her hands into her jeans pockets and nodded again.

"Too true."

She frowned. "What? He's..."

Jacob nodded, grinning. "A 'vegetarian' vamp!"

She laughed. "Wow! You discover something new every day. Man, I feel icky for laughing after such a horrifying day!" She shook her head and shivered. "Hey, Jacob, can you help me figure out which of these coins works for this machine?"

"I think I can," Jacob nodded.


End file.
